An Open Letter To ‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto

I’m not a huge fan of the open letter conceit except in an ironic sense, but by addressing you specifically, Mr. Pizzolatto, I’m hoping that you’ll stumble across this as you’re writing your script for season two of True Detective and keep these thoughts in mind. Let me just preface this by saying that I was a little disappointed in the season finale earlier this month, but this is not a criticism. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s a celebration of the entire series.

See, the reason why I was a little disappointed in the finale is that I’m one of those “theory guys.” I jumped down deep into a rabbit hole and ultimately ended up creating expectations for the series finale that couldn’t probably be fulfilled. Among the theories I wrote about was the Five Horsemen theory, which turned out not to be entirely wrong, just not really the focus in the end. I actually do this sort of thing for several shows, notably Breaking Bad and Mad Men, because like True Detective, they’re smart, profound, and deep enough with subtext, allusion, and symbolism that they lend themselves to this kind of theorizing.

But here’s the thing: I get the sense that, in the beginning, you were having a lot of fun with the way the Internet was creating all of these theories, about Carcosa, and The Yellow King, and the Spaghetti Monster, and how we were overthinking the sh*t out of it. But as the series neared the end, I think you got a little hesitant about it, maybe a little worried, concerned that it would all backfire on you. This is why, I think, you pointed to the piece written by Uproxx’s own Andrew Roberts about how the point of the show was the characters, and not the mystery. The week before the finale, you also told Dan Harmon that you were contemplating leaving the country if the finale tanked. That wasn’t necessary.

Harmon was right in that interview to say that there’s “no way” for the True Detective finale to go wrong because, no matter what happened, we had an amazing, mind-blowing ride through seven episodes.

Some will say that chasing theories can be harmful, but I want to say this: For seven episodes of True Detective, I’ve rarely had more fun experiencing a television show. I learned so much about Robert Chambers, The King in Yellow, about H.P. Lovecraft, and Cthulhu. I learned about satanic cults, and I learned about the culture of Louisiana, and I read an amazing piece by Ethan Brown on the Jeff Davis 8 that rocked my worldview (a piece that will soon be expanded into a book). Like many on the Internet, I might have gotten carried away, but in getting carried away, I learned more about literature, and movies, Louisiana, and filmmaking, that it didn’t matter in the end that I was a little disappointed in the finale. True Detective was like a really f**king awesome college course taught by yourself, McConaughey, Harrelson, and Cary Fukunaga. And there were even boobs. Best. College Course. Ever.

I could say the same thing for Mad Men and Breaking Bad, too. Like True Detective, they allowed us to use those liberal arts degrees that have sat dormant. All that literature we read and studied finally seemed to be useful, because it allowed us to make connections within those shows. Those connections didn’t always line up correctly in the end, but that was hardly the point. Instead of watching television, we get to experience it now. We engage with it. I learned more about Sergio Leone from Vince Gilligan and Breaking Bad than I learned in all my college film courses. When you can bring literature, and movies, and color theory, and archetypes, and cultural allusions to bear on television show, it brings so much more to the experience. It makes it more challenging, and ultimately more rewarding. This is why television is so great now, because it asks us to f**king think.

It’s been close to a month since the True Detective finale, and already my disappointment in the finale has waned. This is what I remember most about the series: Matthew McConaughey’s amazing performance, that incredible tracking shot, Carcosa, the Yellow King, Patton Oswalt’s obsession with the series, and everything I learned about Louisiana, and about gothic literature. But mostly, what I remember is what a goddamn blast I had watching the series, and staying up at nights thinking about it, and getting dozens and dozens of emails from other people who couldn’t sleep because they were working on their own theories.

So that’s what I want to say, as you prepare for season two: Don’t hold back. Don’t worry that the viewers are going to take something that you wrote and turn it into something else. Don’t worry that we’ll make the wrong connections. Don’t hesitate to get heavy with literary references (although, it’d be nice if you referred to something better than The King in Yellow because that was kind of an impenetrable, boring mess). We’re probably going to chase theories no matter what you do, as long as the show is good enough, smart enough, and deep enough to lend itself to it. It’s OK if the finale falls flat. We’re not going to blame you for that, we’re going to celebrate you for continuing to raise the level of television, and for continuing to make it so engaging for us at home.

I still think people should concentrate less on making theories and solving nonexistent riddles and just live in the moment with the story.

Discussion about things is fine, and I get that there are a lot of liberal arts majors with too much time on their hands that are told to overanalyze everything and anything they can find as some sort of greater symbolic meaning, but you know maybe sometimes it’s just the condiments and we’re spending too much time discussing the composition of the ketchup instead of realizing that the fries are what you’re eating and damn they are some delicious fries but if that’s hunts instead of heinz then it’s ALL WRONG.

Honestly, if some liberal arts major wants to find meaning in symbols, that’s cool. There’s a lot of wiggle room there, and the more meaning individuals can pull from a work, the deeper it feels. The problem is when people loose sight of the difference between figurative meaning and literal plot points, then lost their goddamn minds when Holden Caulfield doesn’t marry the prostitute in the window by the end.

Say what you will, I enjoyed that the story in the end turned out to be a straight narrative about a serial killer. We didn’t need the Governor to be the Yellow King or some other unknown entity jumping out of Carcosa throwing us all for a loop. The series was as excellent and engrossing as I’ve ever experienced. I played into all the “hidden” clues too, and had fun doing so. But the finale didn’t disappoint me in the slightest, green house paint aside.

My job is on the line here. Uproxx has informed me that after I completely waste its time on the upcoming Mad Men theories, you are my last hope. I don’t think Reddit pays its conspiracy theory commenters, so I’d appreciate your help.

Dear Nic,
You know that thing you made for you and hopefully a few other people? The fantasy I envisioned for what would happen in the show after only watching 4 episodes did not occur and therefore I am very disappointed in your finale. Here are some rambling strong taeks that could make your show better to me. Please take them to heart,
Signed
Not a stalker in New York

I really want to say how much I hated your show because all of my theories were wrong, but i am afraid of the backlash i would receive for openly writing that. So I am going to wait weeks till the entire True Detective thing dies down to bring it up very passive aggressively. Also here are some unhelpful ways for you to make my live easier for season 2.

Even though you told everyone not to expect some kind of twist, I did anyways and ruined the ending of your show for myself. I am also too lazy to learn about anything else unless it connects to a show I’m watching. Please do it all over again so I can fill the gap of getting everything wrong on Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy, and the The Walking Dead with getting everything wrong about your show and then being disappointed in you.

I didn’t the last episdoe of the show. But all in all I was good. Even through it didn’t have any of the theories that I wasted my time writing about. Now I’m going to write a recap of The Walking Dead and screw everyone’s names up.

I am against open letters, too. However, this was well written and I enjoyed it, so.. Who cares? Aside from that, and this is bugging me, why not bring ol’ Rust back for a mini spin-off about the events that led him to that Tranny/Gay/Lesbian bar he visits in episode 7? Am I taking crazy pills that it would be amazing just to see how he would interact with the environment and the characters of that bar? #rustinagaybar

(I forgot to add) “Please don’t let the fact that we (the internet) went berserk searching for clues in your show ABOUT DETECTIVES SOLVING A CRIME” upend the structure you have in place for season two.

We’ll said Dustin. Your a stand-up guy. It’s like politics. People get so riled up in their beliefs and loose site of what’s important. What’s important is the fact we have the freedom to express our unique perspectives and takes on different subject matter. The fact we can enjoy the journey, instead of focusing on the end of the road, freely, is gold. I appreciate your perspective even though I didn’t fully agree. That is really what matters in interpreting art. Freedom to express one’s own ideas. Great open letter.

People should be writing open letters to JJ Abrams and the writers of Lost since their bullshit is more or less the reason people now overthink crazy theories about TV storylines and then feel deflated when their far-fetched theory proves highly inaccurate.

Man, one of the most annoying things about the internet age is this need people have to be right. To be first. To come up with a theory and hopefully be the guy that says “I told you so!” all over the interwebz.

People need to just enjoy the ride and accept the story that is being told sometimes.